Toy typewriter



Oct. 15, 1940. E. D. BOISSELIER- 2,218,144

TO'Y TYPEWRITER Filed March 17, 1939 Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFCE TOY TYPEWRITER Earl D. Boisselier, Glen Ellyn, Ill.

Application March 17, 1939, Serial No. 262,538

Claims.

invention relates to toys, and more particularly to a device simulating a typewriter.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a toy which may be constructed at low cost and which will provide :a source of amusement and education for juveniles for the purpose of promoting practice along the line of composing written matter after the i a-shion of typewriting. In that connection the invention contemplates a construction which may be made of a minimum number of parts which contributes materially to its low manufacturing cost and also its general stability in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide ments are in client individual stamps on the order of hand stamps, each bearing a suitable embossed character or other indi-cia, which may be individually selected by the operator and then impressed in the proper order on a sheet of paper with the aid of a guide which serves to aline the printed characters in proper lineal order on the sheet.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel combinations and arrangements of features as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and defined in the appended claims.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the [accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional View thereof.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the character bearing keys.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the key shown in Fig. 3.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

As will be observed from the drawing, the to includes in its organization a body designated generally as A and preferably made as a single stamping from lithographed metal. Said body includes the side walls I and the top wall 2, the 50 latter being provided with a plurality of key receiving openings 3. The top surface may be also provided near the front with a portion 4 indieating a space bar, and may also be depressed as indicated at 5 to simulate the type bar well of a standard typewriter, the type bars being a toy typewriter wherein the key simulating elelithographed in the well. The rear portion of the top wall 2 is provided with a transverse paper slot 6 lying adjacent a platen bar or strip 7. The side walls of the body I also carry beneath the top wall 2, a stamp pad support 8. This support consists of a suitable piece of metal having the end portions thereof bent down into parallel relation with the side walls ll and suitably secured thereto by clinching, eyeleting or otherwise. The member 8 carries a felt :or other surface supplied with ink which will properly provide the type key characterswith ink for making impressions on the paper, as they rest in normal position.

The back of the body A is closed by a rear wall I designated generally as B. The ends of this wall are suitably fastened as indicated, at 9 to the vertical side walls l-l of the body, and the upper edge thereof is off-set inwardly on an are I to the illustration, such means comprises a shaft I l which may be a wire of suitable gauge, knurled at spaced intermediate points to receive rubber sleeves l2 which frictionally bear against the paper feeding surface ll! of the hack member B.

The ends of the shaft H are suitably 'journaled Q in the side walls I-I of the body and one end of the shaft may be provided an operating knob [3 .to enable the operator to rotate the shaft and thus feed the paper backward or forward on the surface l0. I The body A is also equipped witha pivoted or swinging type-aligning bar designated generally as D. This bar includes a body l4 having a plurality of openings l5 extending in lineal order across the same and in spaced relation to determine the proper spacing of letters or characters to be imprinted on the sheet. The body I4 is provided with the down-turned arms l6 which are pivoted as at I! to the outer side walls I of the body. It will thus be [apparent that the member D may be swung to and from operative relation to the platen bar or strip 1 for the purpose of holding the paper fed through the slot 6 in positon to receive impressions from the type keys.

The type elements designated generally as E are intended to be inserted in and removed from the type key openings 3 previously referred to. These type keys are preferably made of light metal and include a top portion I8 having the desired letter or character lithog'naphed or otherwise placed thereon, said member [8 being carried by the body of the key which is of substantially U-shaped formation. That is to say, the body of the key consists of a leg 19 integral with the top I8, a transverse web portion 20 and another leg 2| ex-tending upwardly toward the top I8. The upper end of the leg 21 is not connected with the top I8 thereby leaving the leg 2| free to provide enough tension to frictionally hold the key in its related opening 3. In other words, the body of the key element E is resilient so [that it will be firmly, yet removably, held in its related key opening. The web 20 of the keyis provided with an embossed letter or character which is used for printing purposes.

When it is desired to use a device constructed as described, it is only necessary to swing the type guiding member D to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 and insert a paper sheet from the rear of the unit and between the rubber feeding rollers l2 and the surface II). By rotating the shaft II the paper may be thus fed upwardly through the slot 6 until the suflicient amount of sheet has progressed through the slot to cover the platen bar I. The type guiding bar D may then be pushed down to its normal or fullline position and hold the paper sheet firmly against the platen bar. The paper sheet being thus properly positioned in the device the operator can then proceed to stamp the desired letters on the sheet. This is accomplished by removing the selected type key from its position on the top wall of the device and placing the end thereof having the embossed character thereon through one of the openings l of the type guiding bar D. Since the openings l5 are properly arranged so as to give the correct space between letters the process of building up words by selecting the proper key and repeating the operation just described may be continued untila complete line of letters or characters has been made on the paper sheet. When one line has been completed the knob l3 of the paper feeding means C may be turned to bring a fresh portion of the paper into position to receive another line of characters.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present device provides a simple and practical means of assembling a series of letters to form words in lineal order or using other characters, as numerals and the like, that ordinarily appear on a standard typewriter. It will of course be understood that the individual keys preferably bear letters or characters simulating a standard typewriter keyboard so that a wide range of printed matter may be developed by proper use of selected keys.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a toy typewriter, a paper support, and a plurality of individual character bearing keys adapted to be selectively chosen for impressing characters on a paper sheet passing over said support, each of said keys comprising a metallic strip including a top having an identification character thereon and bent to form a pair of opposite leg members, one of which has its end free adjacent the top and the other of which is connected with the top thereby to provide a resilient type key body, said legs being connected by a transverse web having an embossed printing character thereon.

2. A toy simulating a typewriter, comprising, a body including a top wall having a plurality of openings, a support below said wall and including an inking surface, a plurality of type keys removably and frictionally held in said openings and having a printing character on one end thereof, a platen surface on, the body and spaced from said top Wall by apaper receiving slot, a back wall fittedto the body and having an. inwardly and upwardly curved paper sheet supporting wall in feeding relation to said slot, a shaft having friction means thereon overlying said wall for advancing apaper sheet thereover, a type alining and paper holding bar pivotally mounted on said body, said bar having a plurality of openings for receiving the character bearing end of the type keys.

3. A toy simulating a typewriter, comprising, a body including a top wall having a plurality of type key openings, asupport below said wall and including an inking surface, a plurality of type keys removably fitted in said openings and having a printing character on one end thereof, a platen surface on the body and spaced from said top wall by a paper receiving slot, 2. paper supporting wall in feeding relation to said slot, means foradvancinga paper sheetoversaid wall, and a type alining bar pivotally mounted onsaid body, said bar adapted in its lowered position to rest on said platen surface to hold the paper down and having a plurality of openings for receiving the character bearing end of the type keys.

4. A toy simulating atypewriter, comprising, a body including a top wall having a plurality of key receiving openings near the front portion thereof and having a platen surface near the rear thereof, 'a support below said top wall and including an inking surface, shiftable means having a plurality of alined openings and cooperating with the said platen surface for holding a paper sheet thereon and the openings serving as type alining guides, and a plurality of type keys removably fitted in said openings of the top wall andeach having a printing character on one end thereof and adapted to normally rest on said inking surface.

5. In a toy typewriter, a paper support, and a plurality of individual character bearing keys adapted to be selectively chosen for impressing characters on a paper sheet passing over said supmetallic body bent into substantially oblong formation and having an identification character on one short end and'a corresponding embossed printing character on the other short end.

- EARL D. BOISSELIER.

port, said keys each comprising a one-piece, 

